Manchester Guitar Tech
Another EJ-200 lefty conversion, this one in sunburst. These really are cracking acoustic guitars with bags of tone and volume. This example (sourced from Thomann) has much better neck angle than most so I was able to get a low action with plenty of height left on the saddle. I’m thinking that I really should …
The top on this Gibson J-200 has bellied a bit, so much so that the lacquer on the top has started to crack. Consequently, I had trouble getting a low action and thought the guitar might be suitable for the JLD Bridge system, which can correct bowed tops. Installing the JLD system was straightforward enough. …
This vintage Gibson J-50 played great but the lower frets were getting worn and needed attention. The original frets were wide and low, and if I dressed them, it would have resulted in very little height indeed. I agreed with the guitar’s owner that a partial refret was the best option. I replaced the first …
Here’s another Epiphone left hand conversion I did recently, this time a natural finish guitar. I invested in a Stewart Macdonald saddle routing jig and yes, one day I’ll take the protective paper off it! I used a Graphtec Tusq nut and saddle as I like the consistency of the material, plus it’s easier to …
It was my pleasure to make pickguards for two Martin acoustic guitars this week. The pickguards are made from Tortis, invented by John Greven and sold through Luthiers Mercantile. This material makes beautiful pickguards, it polishes to a high gloss and the edges can be rounded for a very organic appearance. Martin OM-18GE Martin 000-42
Note: In this post I refer to “left-handed” and “lefty”. This refers to a guitar which is strung, looking at the guitar face on, with the 1st string on the left and the 6th string on the right. A customer asked me to convert their brand new Epiphone acoustic to left handed. It seems that …